AFP, Tunis :
Tunisia should adjust its development model to counter economic slowdown and build “inclusive growth”, the International Monetary Fund’s country representative said, ahead of an expected line of IMF credit.
The authorities have failed to redress the economy since the uprising five years ago that ousted longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisia’s economic growth slowed to 0.8 percent last year from 2.3 percent in 2014, and unemployment nationwide stands at 15 percent. In January, a wave of protests spread to several cities including Tunis in some of the worst social unrest since the 2011 revolt. “This trend needs to be reversed… The idea would be to build the base for inclusive growth and revise Tunisia’s development model,” Robert Blotevogel told AFP.
An IMF delegation is in Tunisia to discuss a new aid package at least equal to a $1.7 billion credit line granted in 2013.
Blotevogel said the government and the IMF had agreed on “the goal for big reforms and the diagnosis” of the situation, and were now “mostly focusing on the timeline for implementation”.
The IMF’s board is expected to approve the new line of credit — to be over four years at the request of Tunis — on April 22, he said. “Expected growth for 2016 does not correspond to the aspirations of the Tunisian people.
Tunisia should adjust its development model to counter economic slowdown and build “inclusive growth”, the International Monetary Fund’s country representative said, ahead of an expected line of IMF credit.
The authorities have failed to redress the economy since the uprising five years ago that ousted longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisia’s economic growth slowed to 0.8 percent last year from 2.3 percent in 2014, and unemployment nationwide stands at 15 percent. In January, a wave of protests spread to several cities including Tunis in some of the worst social unrest since the 2011 revolt. “This trend needs to be reversed… The idea would be to build the base for inclusive growth and revise Tunisia’s development model,” Robert Blotevogel told AFP.
An IMF delegation is in Tunisia to discuss a new aid package at least equal to a $1.7 billion credit line granted in 2013.
Blotevogel said the government and the IMF had agreed on “the goal for big reforms and the diagnosis” of the situation, and were now “mostly focusing on the timeline for implementation”.
The IMF’s board is expected to approve the new line of credit — to be over four years at the request of Tunis — on April 22, he said. “Expected growth for 2016 does not correspond to the aspirations of the Tunisian people.
